GB1115678A - Process and apparatus for compacting a fabric to prepare a stretch fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

1,115,678. Compacting fabrics; DEERING MILLIKEN RESEARCH CORPORATION. 18 March, 1966 [24 March, 1965], No. 12083/66. Headings DIP and D1S. A fabric is compacted to produce a stretch fabric by a plurality of longitudinally curved in contact with at least one other roll 4. Prerolls 4 in parallel alignment, each roll 4 being ferably, the rolls 4 each comprise a curved shaft clamped at its ends, a series of metal roll sections rotatably mounted by bearings on the shaft and a rubber-like sheath forming the working surface. The rolls have an outside diameter of 1-6.5 inches and a bow sufficient to produce a campaction of 1-10% of the fabric as it passes over each roll. The fabric is fed from a roll 1 over a guide roll 2, through a steamer 3 and over the rolls 4, the fabric being presented at the convex side of each roll 4 and leaving at the concave side thereof. The roll 4 at the point of fabric ingress has the least amount of curvature while that at the point of fabric egress has the greatest amount. The fabric may be simultaneously set in the compacted configuration by a bank of infra-red members 5 and may be maintained in moistened condition by water vapour from a heated water bath 6. The fabric may be immersed in a water bath 7 by passing under a compactor roll 8 mid-way along the series of rolls 4. The compacted fabric is passed over a curved spreader roll 9 of larger diameter than the rolls 4 to remove wrinkles, under a squeeze roll 10, between squeeze rolls 10, 11 and is wound on a take-up roll 12 driven by a roll 13. In one Example, a wool fabric is passed into a reducing agent bath comprising sodium borohydride, between squeeze rolls and through a fourteen roll compactor apparatus of the type of Fig. 1. The fabric is then decatized, dried and semi-decatized. In another Example, a cotton fabric is compacted in a nineteen roll apparatus of the type of Fig. 1 and set in its compacted form by a dihydroxydimethylol ethylene urea cross-linking agent. Other Examples specify heat setting simultaneously with the compacting fabrics containing polyester continuous filaments and mixtures of polyester fibres with wool, cotton or rayon fibres.